Report criticizes New York's 'overlapping' local economic development entities

New York's system of industrial development agencies and local development corporations uses fragmented decision making, lacks sufficient accountability and has a record of poor investment choices, according to a Citizens Budget Commission report.

The Albany area has 21 IDAs and 27 LDCs, according to the report. That can create overlap and unnecessary competition that could hurt the area.

"IDAs and LDCs spent $100 million on wages, salaries, and benefits in 2015, with neighboring entities performing overlapping work," the report said, referring to the statewide impacts. "At its worst, competition between entities creates a 'lose-lose' situation at the regional level, as businesses lured from one community to another are rewarded with tax incentives … In contrast, coordination between individual IDAs and LDCs could take local strengths and weaknesses into account to allocate assistance more efficiently, and consolidation could decrease administrative costs."

Ryan Silva defended IDAs and said the report is just a snapshot of work that evolves over many years.

"Recommending one entity per region is a drastic conclusion to reach based off of one year of data," said Silva. He leads the New York State Economic Development Council, which represents economic development professionals from IDAs, local development corporations, chambers of commerce and more.

"Economic development is really a marathon, it’s not a sprint," Silva said. "Projects evolve over time, strategies evolve over time."

He said members of the council provide businesses with information and resources to navigate local planning, zoning and permitting processes.

"That relationship is very important for businesses in helping them navigate and effectively grow their businesses and create jobs in New York state," Silva said.

The Citizens Budget Commission, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, recommended consolidating IDAs to work with the regional economic development councils, and improving the reporting and accountability of the groups.